The planned Wonder Woman 3 has been scrapped amid the reboot of the DC Universe, and the movie not happening points to Diana’s worst DCEU ending.
Wonder Woman 3 not happening risks giving Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince her worst possible DCEU ending. Gadot has appeared in five DCEU movies so far. Those are: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Wonder Woman 1984, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The actress has also appeared as Diana in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the director’s version of the movie, which was released on HBO Max in 2021. Gadot would have at least one more role in the DCEU before possibly bowing out, but Wonder Woman’s The Flash cameo was reportedly cut.
With her role in The Flash possibly being scrapped, it appears as if Gadot’s time as Wonder Woman has come to an end. Besides her The Flash cameo, Gadot was originally set to conclude her trilogy with Wonder Woman 3. However, as DC has been undergoing a change of command, the new management — James Gunn and Peter Safran — decided not to move forward with Patty Jenkins’ plans for the movie. If the movie never happens, Gadot’s Diana will have been left with a disappointing farewell.
Justice League And Shazam 2 Are Awful Final Chapters For Wonder Woman’s Story
While Wonder Woman 1984 might be the last solo movie for Gadot as the hero, her two last appearances in the DCEU’s chronological order are 2017’s Justice League and this year’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Both are less than stellar movies to carry the final chapters of Gadot’s Wonder Woman in the DCEU. Justice League became an amalgamation of two director’s works, as Zack Snyder had to leave the movie due to a personal tragedy, with his darker tone for the story getting mixed up with the lighter tone of The Avengers‘ Joss Whedon, who DC brought in to change the tone of the movie to be something lighter.
Justice League ended up underperforming at the box office, with overwhelmingly negative reviews. Gadot’s Wonder Woman could not escape the DCEU’s negative state with her recent role in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, as the movie severely underperformed at the box office, failing to even match the numbers of the original Shazam! With her role in The Flash reportedly cut and the DCEU soon being rebooted in favor of the new DC Universe, Gadot’s time as Wonder Woman might have ended with her Shazam! Fury of the Gods‘ cameo, which was crucial to the movie but ultimately was in a film that underperformed.
Wonder Woman 1984 Failed To Give Diana A Proper Ending
The 2020 release of Wonder Woman 1984 failed to match its predecessor’s success, becoming one of the worst-reviewed releases of the DCEU. Gadot’s Wonder Woman 3 being scrapped together with the reboot of the DCEU into the DC Universe looming on the horizon, it appears that the lackluster sequel will be the last solo entry for Gadot’s Wonder Woman. The movie failed to give Diana a proper ending in two important ways, with the movie’s negative reception making it a step down from the original, which might be the DCEU’s best film.
Wonder Woman 1984, even if it had maintained the quality of its predecessor, would have still failed to be the proper DCEU ending that Diana deserves due to the movie being a prequel story, much like the original. Setting the film in the 1980s was great for the movie from an aesthetic point of view, as well as keeping the story fresh. However, the choice led to Diana having two solo films that take place in the DCEU’s past, with her story in the present hardly being explored despite Gadot’s five movie appearances as the character. The choice leads to Gadot’s DCEU presence feeling uneven.
Gal Gadot’s Diana Needed Wonder Woman 3 To Finish Her Story
With Wonder Woman 3 not happening, Gadot’s time as the DC hero is likely not getting the ending it deserved. The actress brought in a universally beloved performance as the character, which makes it all the more frustrating that she was mishandled in the DCEU. However, Wonder Woman was not the only character to receive this kind of treatment, as a common complaint of the old DCEU was that several characters seemed inconsistently written.
This is something that will hopefully change under Gunn’s DC Universe; however, Gadot might not get the chance to experience the shift. If Diana has been cut from The Flash, it seems like Gadot’s time as Wonder Woman is at an end. Wonder Woman 3 needed to happen, as the movie would not only have given the character the closure Diana deserved but also would have potentially been the only modern-day solo entry for Wonder Woman. The film could have brought her story full circle, concluding Diana’s arc with a neat bow.
How The DCU Can Still Finish Wonder Woman’s Story
A Wonder Woman 3, even if DC had to find a new director for the film to replace Jenkins, would be the optimal way to conclude the story of Gadot’s Diana. However, with no Wonder Woman project in the currently-announced DC Universe Chapter 1 slate (there is the Themiscyra-set Paradise Lost, but it seems to be Wonder Woman-free), it’s not clear when the character can next appear. It’s possible that Gadot gets an opportunity to finish her story as Wonder Woman in a big way through an appearance, or multiple, in future movies as a supporting character, but when or where is unclear.
Despite Gadot’s Wonder Woman future now looking grim, it is good to remember that Ben Affleck once appeared to be done as Batman, only for the actor to return for more. A Gadot return could be in the cards even if Wonder Woman 3 never happens, giving DC’s leading Justice League member a better sense of closure.
